Downtown Cairo

城市概覽

History Downtown Cairo's wide boulevards and streets were laid out in the late 19th century on the orders of Ismail the Magnificent, the Paris of Baron Hausmann being the obvious model for a ruler wishing to Europeanise his capital and his country. The architecture of many buildings is clearly redolent of Paris in the 1870s, if now somewhat run down from neglect and dusty from the Cairene climate.

Orientation Downtown Cairo is centered on 1 Midan Talaat Harb, at the intersection of Talaat Harb St (southwest-northeast) and Qasr El-Nil (west-east). The southern end of Downtown is Midan Tahrir (Tahrir Square). The east end is marked by 2 Midan Ataba, the starting point of Islamic Cairo. If you are a confident traveler and used to navigating your way around cities, then Cairo should be no different for you. Talaat Harb St was known as Soliman Pasha St before 1964. The statue of the French General Jean Anthelme Seve, also known as Soliman Pasha Al Faransawi, stood where the statue of Talaat Harb, founder of the Banque Misr now stands. Cairienes know this street by both names.

如何抵達

By train All long-distance trains arrive at the 3 Midan Ramses station, at the north edge of downtown. Midan Ramses is notorious for swirling, raucous traffic, massive overpasses and crowds at peak hour - it is basically the central traffic hub into and out of Cairo. Just below the square in front of the train station is Martyrs (الشهداء, Al-Shohadaa) metro station, which is an interchange between lines 1 and 2. From here it is a 25-minute walk to Midan Tahrir, on the other side of downtown.

By metro Cairo's three metro lines converge in downtown. The Sadat metro station is at Midan Tahrir, right beside the Egyptian Museum. This is at the south end of downtown, a 10-minute easy walk to the center of the district, via Talaat Harb Street. Downtown is accessed through two additional stations, Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser.

By bus The Abdel Mo'nem Riyad Coach Station: a 5-minute walk from Tahrir Sq and behind the Egyptian Museum has four coach stations:

One is the micro-bus station. Beside it is the local bus station serving the areas of Giza, Ma'adi, Helwan, Sheikh Zayid City. The third serves the East of Cairo, i.e., Heliopolis, Medinet Nasr, Cairo Airport, and El Rehab. The fourth station is across the road from the other three stations and this is where you can board the intercity coaches. The offices and bookings of Superjet, East Delta, West Delta, and El Gouna are here with destinations including Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, Ras Sidr, El Gouna, Alexandria, Delta Cities, Marsa Matrouh, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, El Tur, El Arish, Nuweiba, Dahab, Rafah.

By taxi From downtown, taxis from Zamalek should cost around LE5, and from Citadel, Coptic Cairo or Islamic Cairo around LE10. For more general information on Taxis in Cairo, see Cairo#By taxi.

必看景點

The Egyptian Museum

1 Egyptian Museum, ☏ +20233777263. 9AM–4PM. The museum is in a pink neoclassical building on the northern edge of Midan Tahrir. It's the product of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835, to try to curb the looting of antiquities sites and artefacts. It opened in 1858 with a collection assembled by Auguste Mariette Pasha, the French archaeologist employed by Isma'il Pasha. After residing in an annex of the Bulaq palace in Giza from 1880, the museum moved in 1900 to its present location. It's a glorious ramshackle treasure-house that evokes Dylan Thomas' famous line about "The museum which should have been in a museum!" While many of the treasures have since been moved to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, this is still a rich collection and well worth seeing. LE550, students LE275. Tickets for videography (personal use only) are available at LE300 per camera. Photography is free. (updated May 2026)

Midan Tahrir 4 Midan Tahrir (Arabic: ميدان التحرير, "Liberation Square", also commonly known as Tahrir Square) is the name given to the large public square at the epicentre of modern Cairo, and (as a city district) to the streets and institutions located nearby. The Egyptian Museum, the American University in Cairo, the Arab League, and the Hilton and Intercontinental Hotels are all located here, as are several important government offices. The metro also has its main nexus under Midan Tahrir, and a great many buses and taxis make Tahrir Square a key part of their services. The square was known as Midan Ismaili until 1954, when President Nasser gave it its current name. The relatively open vista of Tahrir Square affords the confused traveler a great opportunity to look about and gain some bearings within the bustling city center. Perhaps the most prominent building bordering Tahrir Square is the now somewhat jaded-looking Nile Hilton, which was Africa's first Hilton hotel, between the Square and the N

體驗活動

1 Cairo Puppet Theatre, Azbakia Park (near the Ataba metro station.), ☏ +20 2 2268-5241, [email protected]. A fantastic way to spend an afternoon with the kids. The Cairo Puppet Theatre puts on a variety of shows including myths, fairy tales and fun children's stories. American Research Center Egyptology, art and culture illustrated lectures, Garden City (close to Tahrir Square at 2 Midan Simon Bolivar (known locally as Midan Qasr al-Dubara)), ☏ +20 2 2794 8239, +20 2 2795 3052 (fax), [email protected]. Lectures are held every Wednesday evening at 6PM during the academic year, open to all visitors, admission free. (updated Apr 2020)

購物

The Downtown district of Cairo features a number of Egyptian department stores. They were fantastic emporiums, full of the world's best products — until July 1961 when every one of Egypt's great department stores were nationalized. Those days are long gone, and quality shopping has moved to upmarket malls in Heliopolis, Nasr City, Maadi and other upscale neighborhoods. Today, Downtown is the place to go for cheap fakes and local produce of variable quality and the full range of Arabic pop music (and films). The Midan Ataba area is home to large bookseller markets, where you can find inexpensive books, as well as electronics and clothing markets. Near the main post office, there are vendors selling stationery and cards. Talaat Harb Street is the place to find shoes, with one shoe store after another.

1 Madbouli, 6 Midan Talaat Harb (near Sadat Metro station), ☏ +20 2 2575-6421. Mostly Arabic bookstore with a range of political literature and other books. 2 Omar Effendi, 25 Adly St, ☏ +20 2 2392-5011. A large iconic Egyptian, 150-year-old department store. Sadly, filled with Chinese and poorly made Egyptian clothing even now since its privatization and takeover by the Gulf Kuwaiti Sultan Centre Company. 3 Sednaoui Department Store, On Khazindar Square (near Al-Ataba Square-near Ataba Metro station). This once family-owned department store was nationalized in 1961 and now has the neglected feeling of an East German department store. I